WARANGAL  SUNDAY  FEBRUARY 14, 2021  `8.00  PAGES 24  CITY EDITION ROHIT GIVES INDIA EDGE Spectators are back. Opener Rohit Sharma did not disappoint them with a classy 161 as India posted 300/6 against England FANS The second India-England Test is the first international event to allow fans back into the stadium since the pandemic. Though only 50% capacity was allowed, the atmosphere was electrifying TOSS India opted for a turner to take the toss out of the equation. Luck went Virat Kohli’s way this time and the hosts chose to bat. With 300 on board, they were comfortably placed on Day One PARTNERSHIP Two batsmen under pressure — Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane — steered India out of trouble with a 162-run stand for the fourth wicket. Rahane scored a patient 67 before getting out 1ST PITCH Although it doesn’t resemble a dust bowl, run scoring is getting harder with the top layer already showing signs of breaking up. If England crumble, the match could be over in less than 5 days Rohit Sharma scored a classy 161 on the first day of the second Test in Chennai on Saturday | BCCI | P11 THIS IS THE FIRST TIME KOHLI HAS BEEN DISMISSED FOR DUCK BY A SPINNER CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI TS-MADE COVAXIN FACING TRUST ISSUES AT HOME? 1,72,960 SLOW START IN TELANGANA Covaxin doses received by Telangana so far, one of the highest 1,910 beneficiaries have taken Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shot in TS as on Feb 9 Only 16 States/UTs are using Covaxin Gujarat superseded all States by giving 1,06,043 beneficiaries the shot till date, followed by Rajasthan A frontline worker being administered the second dose of the Covid vaccine in Hyderabad | VINAY MADAPU B.Pharmacy student cooked up rape story, misled police & mom E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad THE 19-year-old BPharm student, who had said she had been gangraped, has taken the Rachakonda police for a ride. The police almost believed her when she wove a story that she was kidnapped and then raped on Wednesday, and even registered a case of gang rape, trusting her statement when, all the time, she was taking them up the garden path. When the police realised that they were tricked, they immediately altered the Sections and let go of the suspects — auto drivers who, in fact, helped the police crack the case. Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh Bhagwat thanked the auto drivers for cooperating with the police and helping them arrive at the truth. The police now have enough evidence showing that she was not kidnapped and was all alone from the time she alighted from the passenger auto at 5.20 pm at Keesara till she reached Annojiguda on foot at 7.20 pm. When her mother kept calling her, she came up with a kidnap story but after learning that her mother had called the police, she added the rape element to make her story stick, Rachakonda Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said on Saturday . The case was detected based on the technical evidence in the form of CCTVs, mobile location of the girl and also a few auto drivers the police picked up for questioning. “A few auto drivers, including the one who dropped her last, were also questioned. But their statements matched with their mobile tower location and the CCTV footage in the respective locations. After analysing over 100 CCTV cameras, it was found that after alighting from the vehicle, the girl walked for four km all alone and then boarded a passenger vehicle to get down at Annojiguda, which was around 150 m away from where she was found,” Mahesh Bhagwat said. The girl, after being traced at the location on Wednesday night, made up the rape story and police could not get more details assuming she was in trauma. But on Thursday when they , recorded her statement, she said the suspects had raped her. Accordingly , medical teams collected samples and sent them for forensic analysis. How- Rachakonda Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat Student wasn’t kidnapped Police have enough evidence to show that the student was not kidnapped. When her mother kept calling her, she cooked up a kidnap story but after learning that her mother had called the police, she added the rape element to make her story stick, said Rachakonda Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat ever, after analysing the CCTVs and getting a clear picture, when the girl was questioned again on Friday night, she admitted to have cooked up the story “It was found that she want. ed to go away from home over personal reasons,” the police said. Bhagwat said she had made up a false story and kept the entire force on their toes. They will present the matter in court for necessary action. State has the third lowest administration rate of the vaccine in the country D O N I TA J O S E @ @ Hyderabad EVEN though Telangana received one of the highest number of doses of the indigenously developed Covaxin — nearly 1,72,960 — it has the third lowest administration rate of the vaccine in the country . According to data provided in reply to a question in Lok Sabha, only 1,910 beneficiaries have taken the Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin shot in the State as on February 9. This is the third lowest among all those States which began using the vaccine — West Bengal being the lowest and Jharkhand second. In fact, only 16 of the 37 States and Union Territories have started to administer E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi IN a scathing counter-attack on Rahul Gandhi for his relentless targeting of the government over the farm laws and the LAC standoff with China, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman on Saturday dubbed the former Congress president “Doomsday man for India”. During her reply to the Budget discussion in Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said the former Congress chief was constantly insulting constitutional functionaries and institu- EXPRESS READ Golconda diamond to go under hammer in March Hyderabad: A rare diamond, which traces its roots to the famed Golconda mines and hails from an estate in New York, is set to go under the hammer next month in the USA. The 3.05-carat flawless, pear-shaped diamond is estimated to fetch around `1.5 crore but the price is likely to go up. The Fortuna Auction House in New York is set to auction the diamond in March | P3 TS ranks 2nd in inflation, high food prices to blame Hyderabad: Telangana had the second highest inflation rate in the country in January at 6.07 per cent, according to the Consumer Price Index report of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). Also, while most other States recorded higher inflation rates in rural areas than in the urban pockets, it was the opposite in Telangana | P4 WITH THIS ISSUE ROYAL REVIVERS PLUS 12 PAGES New Mayor in, Shaikpet Tahsildar out A day after Gadwala Vijaya Lakshmi assumed charge as the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Mayor, Shaikpet Tahsildar N Srinivas Reddy was shunted out and not given any posting. Instead, the State government asked him to report before the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA). This development assumes significance as Vijaya Lakshmi had an altercation with Srinivas Reddy on January 21, after which he lodged a complaint with the police alleging that she had obstructed him from discharging his official duties. Vijaya Lakshmi, who was a Corporator back then, had asked him to complete some work. As he was on his way to attend court, he expressed his inability to do so. Furious, Vijaya Lakshmi and her followers besieged his office ALTERCATION ON JAN 21 The development assumes significance as Vijaya Lakshmi, who was then a Corporator, had an altercation with Tahsildar Srinivas Reddy on January 21, after which he lodged a police complaint. He alleged that she had obstructed him from discharging his official duties. Now, he has been shunted out and not given any posting and did not allow him to step out. Srinivas Reddy had lodged a complaint with the local police stating that the Corporator and her followers obstructed him from attending court. He also said they hurled abuses at him. However, after she assumed charge as Mayor, Vijaya axin, Gujarat superseded all States by giving 1,06,043 beneficiaries the shot till date, followed by Rajasthan (66,679). One of the other key reasons for the hesitancy towards this vaccine is the need for consent forms, which often puts beneficiaries in fear of adverse reactions. Even though Dr G Srinivasa Rao, Telangana Director of Public Health, took the Covaxin shot, it appears to have not encouraged other beneficiaries to go for it. However, it is learnt that post February 11, the numbers of those opting for Covaxin have risen marginally, but it continues to stay on the lower side. Combative Nirmala calls Rahul ‘Doomsday man’ PAST RIVALRY V V B A L A K R I S H N A @ Hyderabad Covaxin. Telangana had received the second highest consignment of the vaccine, after Tamil Nadu which got 1.89 lakh doses. This is in sharp contrast to the slow and hesitant use of the vaccine. Experts attribute this to the fact that Telangana began using this vaccine only from February 8 onwards, when it administered it to frontline workers. The vaccine had not been rolled out for healthcare workers as the State decided to wait and watch its response in other places. However, even in this group of frontline workers, the response was poor, with only 84,340 taking any form of Covid-19 vaccination. In terms of administering Cov- Lakshmi reportedly influenced her political bosses and got him transferred. The orders issued on Saturday read: “K Venkata Reddy, Tahsildar of Rangareddy district, is hereby transferred and allotted to Hyderabad district on administrative grounds vice N Srinivas Reddy Tah, sildar of Hyderabad district, transferred. On transfer Srinivas Reddy, Tahsildar, is directed to report before the CCLA.” Meanwhile, the Telangana Revenue Employees Services Association (TRESA) president Vanga Ravinder Reddy and general secretary K Goutham Kumar alleged that the Shaikpet Tahsildar was transferred under political pressure and faulted the officials for not giving him a posting. They have decided to take up the matter with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. tions, betraying a lack of belief in a democratically elected parliamentary system. He had joined the “break India fringe group” and was continuously creating false narratives to demean India, the minister alleged. The Congress “makes allegations, uses abusive language, but when under parliamentary procedure they have to respond to... they only shout and walk out”, she said. Responding to the allegations of the government promoting crony capitalism, she asserted that the Hum Do, Hamare Do jibe that Gandhi had been taking on the government was more apt for his family. “In banks, you did phone banking and left huge NPAs. This is one tendency, create institutions and use them for Hum Do Hamare Do and at the end of the day keep accusing others” said Sitharaman. Right to protest anywhere is not absolute: SC E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi REITERATING that prolonged protests can’t be at the cost of continued occupation of public spaces as they affect the rights of others, the Supreme Court has dismissed the review petitions challenging its October 2020 verdict on the Shaheen Ba gh protests. A bench of justices S K Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari rejected the plea filed by 12 persons seeking a review of its October 2020 verdict, which held public spaces can’t be occupied indefinitely. “(The) constitutional scheme comes with a right to protest and express dissent but with an obligation to have certain duties. The right to protest can’t be anytime and everywhere. There may be some spontaneous protests but in case of prolonged protest, there can’t be continued occupat i o n o f p u bl i c p l a c e, ” t h e CONTINUED ON P8 bench held.